April 23rd, New Zealand Day 8: June 2005

April 23rd, New Zealand Day 8

These are photos I took on my eighth day of travel in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

On the bus drive to Kaikoura, I took a photo of these snow-capped mountains.

These are some birds that were standing in the waters off the Kaikoura Peninsula.

This is a formation on the Kaikoura Peninsula known as the Shark Tooth; I think it's clear to see why.

This, and the next 3 photos, are a panorama of the view from part of the Kaikoura Peninsula. The area is underlain by a slab of limestone which is what the formations close to the camera are made of. It also resembles parts of Canada, and could just as easily be a photo of someplace in Nova Scotia.

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

These are the bluffs which encompass the Kaikoura Peninsula and, to me, they seemed very similar to the bluffs on Canada's East Coast.

This is a seal colony that I accidentally walked into and had it not been for the barking of a seal, I may never have noticed.

This is the seal that barked at my companion and I to warn us that we had entered a colony. There is a saying that fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and so, keeping that in mind, my friend and I continued onward.

These are a few mountains which make up the Seaward Kaikoura Range as seen from the Kaikoura Peninsula.

These are some interesting rock formations I saw on the hike around the Kaikoura Peninsula.

When I took this photo, I doubt I was more than 2 meters away from this seal.

This was a passage through the bluffs which allowed us to bypass a seal.

Along with the Kiwi, the sheep is a national animal of New Zealand. The first 2 were introduced by Captain Cook when he landed in about 1788 and they have been a part of New Zealand life ever since.